Adam Aleczander Ramirez (left) plays guitar with Jose Soria, on whom his character in “Strange Places” is based. Soria was the bassist for Happy Dogs, the band Nirvana opened for in 1989.

Adam Aleczander Ramirez (left) plays guitar with Jose Soria, on whom his character in “Strange Places” is based. Soria was the bassist for Happy Dogs, the band Nirvana opened for in 1989.

Photo: Melendrez Entertainment

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Gloria Bueno plays Natalie, a groupie who gets caught in a culture of drugs, addiction and dependency.

Gloria Bueno plays Natalie, a groupie who gets caught in a culture of drugs, addiction and dependency.

Photo: 'Strange Places' Staff

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Movie chronicles musician's 'Strange Places'

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In 1989, four traveling musicians shacked up with a local band called Happy Dogs after a show at Alfred's.

“It was a birthday party for this girl,” says Jose Soria, then bassist for Happy Dogs. “Happy Dogs was playing and there was this traveling band called Nirvana coming through and they asked if they could put them on the bill.”

Back then, they couldn't have known that Nirvana would become one of the most famous bands in history.

“They actually stayed at our house for three days partying,” Soria says. “They were just four guys in a van.”

Xavier Ramirez, director and screenwriter of “Strange Places,” an upcoming film chronicling Soria's experience as a musician and drug addict in the thriving grunge scene of the '80s and '90s, says the relationship between Nirvana and Happy Dogs was rare.

“Nirvana didn't become friends with many people on the road, but they became friends with the Happy Dogs,” he says.

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One of the few contacts Nirvana had in San Antonio, Soria said he and Cobain bonded creatively and chemically.

The two found common ground in music, poetry and their drug of choice, heroin.

Soria's relationship with Nirvana barely plays a part in “Strange Places,” which Ramirez adapted from a short story by Cynthia Bergen, a local writer. The opening scene of the film, starring local actors Gloria Bueno and Adam Aleczander Ramirez, will re-create the 1989 concert that featured the two bands, and follow the main characters as they delve deeper and deeper into drugs and addiction.

“You have all these stories about bands who opened for Nirvana, but this is one that they opened for,” Ramirez says. “What happened to those bands?”

The subject matter was compelling enough to interest Bergen, who also serves as an executive producer on the film.

“I typically write about my own life stories,” Bergen says. “But I heard about (Soria) and he was an incredible artist and musician.”

The film deals with themes of dependency, on both drugs and people, infused with music composed by local artists.

Filmmakers are seeking $5,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to get “Strange Places” off the ground. A video promoting the filmmaker's fundraising efforts was shot earlier this month, and casting for the film is ongoing.

“You hide what you can hide, do what you can do and get what you can get,” Soria says, explaining how traveling musicians deal with addiction. “It was a totally different time.”